Iced Cream
by Prower Power
Summary: An unlikely visitor to Cream's Flower Shop gets her to thinking about Tails and it being Valentine's Day and all.... Plus is Italian, Mexican, Chinese, or Japanese food the best? Answers to this burning question, Tails/Cream, and more inside.


**Iced Cream**

"Wow Sonic, I never would've expected to see you here." Cream says slyly as she organizes lavender and white roses in a vase behind the counter.

"What? You don't think I'm romantic enough do to something special for Valentine's Day?"

"Well, you never seemed like the romantic type." She tells him simply as she plucks one of the flawless white roses from the arrangement.

"Well that's no way to treat someone that brought you a gift." Sonic says, feigning mock insult as he extends a long, thin, and dull yellow box across the counter.

A simple, light pink bow adorns the box around the center.

"Sonic…for me?" Cream says, before giggling lightly and covering her face to shield her laugh. "You shouldn't have."

She giddily accepts the box and unties the single knot ribbon. She pulls away the lid to reveal a bouquet of a dozen fresh carrots, still gleaming with early morning dew from the field where they were picked.

"Very cute Sonic. Thank you." Cream laughs a little as she sits the box behind the counter. "I go through over a dozen carrots a day just to keep my teeth filed down ya know?"

"Really?!" Sonic is taken aback by what Cream thought was a well known fact about rabbits.

"Gotcha." She winks at him quickly before grinning to herself and returning to her work. "It's nowhere near that bad, but I do love carrots, so thanks! What can I get for you?"

"Actually, I'm looking for some spider lilies. Can you help me out?"

"Sure can! Could these be for Aaaaamy?"

"Yes they might be for Aaaamy!" Sonic sarcastically responds to Cream's teasing.

"Here you go." Cream produces a pristine bundle of spider lilies wrapped in clear plastic. Their olive green stems contrast strikingly against the searing pink flowers.

"Do you two have big plans for tonight?" Cream asks as she opens the door to a refrigerated flower case.

"Yeah, nothing special. Just dinner at Luigi's and probably a movie or something."

"Ooohhh Luigi's, huh?" Cream grins mischievously. "I love their lasagna!"

"Me too Cream. Italian food is fantastic." Sonic replies with a goofy grin. "Not to mention Mexican food, Japanese food, and Chinese food! Holy cow!"

Cream rolls her eyes again as Sonic seems momentarily lost in his culinary tour around the world.

"We should have lunch there sometime." Sonic offers casually.

"Sounds great Sonic! How about tomorrow around twelve thirty?"

"I'll swing by then and pick you up."

Cream nods approvingly with a broad grin.

"How's Cheese doing these days?"

"Oh," Cream says off handedly. "I traded him for some Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards and Bakugan Battle Brawlers a couple of weeks ago."

She didn't even glance up as she pulled some intense yellow tulips from the refrigerated case.

"You what?!" Sonic shouts in shock.

Cream looks at Sonic with a curious face.

"What? Cheese was my property. I'm allowed to trade him for whatever I want." She shrugs before grabbing a pair of blue handed shears.

She slices off about a third from the base of the tulips.

Sonic's eyes seem to continually widen in shock at what he's hearing from the rabbit.

Cream suddenly raises her hand and tosses half a dozen stem pieces at Sonic, which lightly smack him in the face.

"I'm just messing with you Sonic."

Cream tries not to double over and hold her stomach as she laughs uncontrollably.

"Cheese is back at my apartment. No worries." She tells him as she steps around and picks up the stems that are scattered near Sonic's sizzling red shoes.

"You had me worried there Cream." He responds with a slight chuckle. "Using chao as a commodity has been outlawed for a couple of years now, ever since those scientists started trying to clone them."

"Thankfully they can still be bought and sold as pets though." Cream responds knowingly.

"And they can still race right?" Sonic asks, not entirely sure of the law himself.

"Yep, but only in Station Square Governing Authority sanctioned races."

"Have you entered Cheese or any of your chao in races lately?"

"Nahhh…..I've been training them some, but nothing intense. I like to watch the races more than anything." Cream explains. "Tails even called me a few weeks ago to ask about what kind of vitamins and stuff it was safe to give a chao."

Sonic smiles softly as Cream speaks.

"It's kind of hard to imagine Tails with a chao, ya know?" Cream says as she looks intently at Sonic. "He never really seems like the kind to want a pet."

"Nahhh Cream…..I wouldn't say that." Sonic scolds her mildly. "Tails just isn't very open about those kind of things. He's kind of shy, as I'm sure you know."

"Do you know where he is today?" Cream's voice and even her ears perk up slightly at the thought.

"I haven't talked to him in a couple of days. Try calling him at his shop, or…" Sonic offers as he reaches into his pocket. "Here's his cell number."

Sonic turns his black touch screen phone sideways and displays the number to Cream.

"Is the flower girl thinking of making a move on her little foxy friend?" Sonic says slyly as he gives Cream repeated soft nudges in the side.

"No!" Cream shoves him back roughly.

Sonic cackles loudly as Cream seems flustered by his line of questioning.

"Well, time could be running out Cream. Tails has been pretty stoic when I've asked him about you or girls in general lately."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"I'm just saying that knowing him, if he doesn't find a date soon, he's likely to build some kind of robotic girl fox-rabbit hybrid or something. Once it's reached that point, he'll be gone forever." Sonic smirks sarcastically as he navigates the narrow aisles of the blossoming flowers.

"Bye Faker…." Cream brightens up slightly as she calls to the exiting hedgehog.

"What did you say little girl?" Sonic turns and looks at her with mock anger.

"I'm not a little girl Sonic. I'm fourteen." Cream scolds him. "And Shadow taught me."

Sonic rolls his eyes heavily and gives her a brief wave before heading outside into the chilly mid February air.

*

"Hello?" Tails answers with a little curiosity at receiving a call at five in the afternoon.

"Hey Tails..h-how's it g-going?" Cream shakily asks.

"Oh hey Cream! Pretty good! How about you?"

"A-alright I guess."

"You sound scared. What's the matter?"

"Oh…well…I just kind of had a problem…..with the….at the flower shop?" She stumbles through her response.

"What happened?"

"Well…the refrigerated cooling case I keep some flowers in has stopped working, and I'm worried everything in there is going to spoil. I was kind of wondering…..if you could take a look at it?"

"No problem Cream! I'd be happy to help! I'll be over in a few minutes."

Tails quickly hangs up the phone.

Cream exhales deeply as she sinks to the floor against the flower fridge as its tiny motor hums along normally.

She's managed to get Tails here, but that was the easy part.

She hurriedly slips on her thick sky blue coat with frilly white lining around the hood and steps outside to wait on him.

Cream notices all the restaurants filled with diners as only an occasional passerby is visible in either direction on Pear Orchard Boulevard.

She shivers slightly as she sits down on an unforgivingly cold wooden bench underneath the awning of her Flower Power store.

She focuses her thoughts on warmth as she waits and tries not to think about what she's going to say to Tails.

Cream is totally consumed in her thoughts long enough to only be shaken alert by the sound of the door of Tails' red aero car slamming.

"Hey Cream." He smiles warmly at her as he walks around the front of his car.

She quickly squirms to her feet and opens the front door, ushering him into the shop.

What am I going to do? She thinks frantically.

"Tails! I'm so sorry!" She practically yells out spontaneously. "It started working again not long after I called you."

Cream's mind is spinning frantically, trying to come up with the next lie to avoid crashing the car that is her plan into a wall spectacularly.

"No, that's just it Cream. If it's going in and out, that could be a serious problem."

"Yeah…" She quietly responds as Tails pulls out a screwdriver and begins to extract the back panel from the fridge.

After Tails' detailed inspection, he tells her that he doesn't see anything obviously wrong with the unit, but that a new motor for the cooling fan wouldn't be a bad idea.

He makes a few calls to try and find the part.

"There's a place north of town that has one, but they've already sent their drivers home for the day. They said they'll ship it out tomorrow or we can pick it up tonight."

"Oh well….tomorrow's fine." Cream despondently replies.

"Why don't we go get it tonight?" Tails offers.

"You don't have to go to so much trouble Tails. It's no big deal." Cream tries to put him off.

"Don't worry about it Cream. C'mon let's go!"

Cream releases a short smile as they bundle up in their jackets again before heading outside.

Tails slips on his black thermal jacket and gloves as Cream locks the door to the shop.

*

"Well, here it is Cream." Tails says giddily as he opens the cardboard box he's holding under his right arm.

The little grey and black motor looks unassuming enough.

Cream continues to feel terrible about the fact that there is actually nothing wrong with the cooler and no reason for Tails to be doing this at all.

"How much do I owe you Tails? I know this thing must've cost at least a hundred dollars." Cream offers guiltily.

"Don't worry about it Cream. I'm happy to help. Besides, I could use a refresher on working with these kinds of machines. I haven't dealt with refrigeration units and Freon and all that in months."

"Yeah…" She replies despondently, keeping her eyes sulkily staring at the sidewalk.

"Have you already eaten dinner Cream?" Tails asks as he pops open the truck of his aero car before placing the motor gently inside.

"No, why?"

"I heard about this great Italian restaurant near here called Luigi's that I've never eaten at before, and I'm kinda of starving, so how about it?"

Cream gladly accepts with a series of nods.

They quickly climb into the car to avoid the intense wind that's started to blow. There's a heavy layer of old snow on the ground, but tonight's sky is clear and glowing brightly with a patchwork pattern of stars strewn across a gentle blueberry colored canvas.

The car's motor whines noisily as Tails turns the key again and again.

"Are you kidding me?!" He bangs the steering wheel with his hands before yanking the key out of the ignition.

"What's the matter?" Cream asks quickly.

"Probably the battery. Let me check." Tails replies with a hint of frustration in his voice as he motions for Cream to lean back so he can open the glove compartment.

He sifts through some disorganized papers and tools and grabs an amp meter and a small wrench.

He pushes a button on the driver's side door that opens the hood.

Cream waits nervously inside as she hears Tails quietly working away beneath the dim gleam of the sickly yellow light inside the hood.

She looks toward him expectantly as he opens the driver's side door.

"Yep, it's got almost no juice." Tails sighs dejectedly as he flops his head against the center of the steering wheel.

For good measure, the impact was just enough to force the air bag to deploy.

Tails' head slowly sinks to the wheel again as the bag deflates.

Cream laughs loudly at the fox's frustrated face.

"I don't know why I even try to build things." Tails sighs sarcastically as he sits up again.

"I guess we'd better walk Cream. That restaurant isn't too far from here."

Cream nods in agreement as they step outside the car.

"Just let me tell the guy at the shop that I'm going to have to leave my car here overnight."

*

Cream and Tails hurriedly walk the two blocks to Luigi's where the line extended well outside and around the corner.

"How long's the wait?" Tails asked the maître'd behind a tall podium.

"At least an hour darlin'." She replies as she looks at him sympathetically. "That is, unless you want to sit out on the terrace in the wind."

"We'll take it!" Cream chimes in quickly.

Tails seems surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, but doesn't disagree.

They are seated on the upstairs balcony, overlooking the kaleidoscope of lights of Station Square.

"You sure you two are okay?" A concerned waitress asks as she brings them each a glass of Coca-Cola.

The perfectly carbonated Coke fizzles crisply as they each giddily swirl their straws around before taking a long, satisfying sip.

"You don't even want hot chocolate or anything?" The waitress chimes in.

"Nope, we're fine." Tails responds. "Hot chocolate would mess up the taste of your famous lasagna I would think."

Cream looks at him with a smile.

"Where'd you hear about this place from?" Cream inquires after they place their orders.

"I saw a commercial for it on TV, and Amy's mentioned it to me a couple of times. She knows one of the chefs."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Amy's a pretty good cook herself you know. She always brings me home made chicken soup and cinnamon rolls when I'm sick." Tails says, slightly embarrassed as he scratches behind his left ear nervously.

"You mean you're not an expert chef too, along with your many other talents?" Cream taunts him slightly.

Tails is visibly flustered by the compliment, but shakes it off.

"Nahhh, I can make good tacos and out of the box stuff, but I've never been much into cooking."

"I should teach you sometime." Cream replies reflexively, immediately wondering if she's being too forward. "We could start off with something easy like spaghetti or chicken parmesan."

"I'd like that." Tails replies shyly as he twiddles his feet beneath the table.

They continue their conversation with quiet smiles and spontaneous bursts of giggling until their two plates of lasagna arrive.

*

"That was soooo delicious!" Cream coos in delight as she sips the last drops of Coke from her glass. "I'm resisting the urge to pick up the plate and lick the rest of the sauce off!"

"I was trying to ignore the same thought!"

They laugh together loudly.

"I'll do it if you'll do it." Cream offers sneakily, picking up the square yellow plate with lime green circles and trim around the edges.

Tails fights off a laugh as he picks up his plate too.

"One….two…." Cream begins to count.

"Three!" Tails says as they both hesitantly take a first timid lick in front of each other.

They both lick up some of the remaining sauce before putting their plates down again.

"Was that rude of us?" Cream asks sarcastically, putting her chin in her right hand as if she's contemplating their transgression seriously.

"Yeah, probably." Tails assumes the same 'thoughtful' position as well.

They both laugh as they stand up from the table and head downstairs to pay their bill.

"That'll be $22.87 sir." The man behind the cash register says rhythmically.

"Plus one gelato please." Cream chimes in. "And Tails, I'm paying for this."

She stares him down, but Tails ignores her.

"Pffftt…no way Cream. The guy always has to pay, I think it's a law, or a rule, or something like that."

"What flavor Miss?"

"Vanilla please!"

"Isn't it a little cold for ice cream you two?" The man asks as he reaches into the freezer.

"It's never too cold for gelato!" Cream replies, taking a short first lick after she's handed the cone.

"Do you like gelato Tails?" She asks as they head outside and begin walking back toward the car.

"I've never had it before."

"You've got to try this!" Cream stops in her tracks and grabs his wrist.

Tails blushes slightly at Cream's touch. He bites off a small layer of the sweet treat from the top.

"Wow, that is good Cream! So creamy and soft!" Tails says, somewhat surprised.

They both continue to talk quietly as they walk down the street toward the car.

"Tails, how exactly are we going to get back?" Cream asks as his red sedan aero car comes into sight.

"I….actually hadn't thought of that." Tails admits as they stop near an intersection.

"Maybe we could call Sonic or Amy?" Cream offers.

"Yeah!"

"Oh, but they're on a date. I don't want to bother them." Cream interjects quickly.

"They're on a date?" Tails asks, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"Yep, Sonic told me himself when he stopped by today. He bought her some spider lilies and everything."

"You must have the inside scoop on all the town's romances working at that flower shop, huh Cream?" Tails asks.

"Sometimes…" Cream replies coyly as she looks at her breath sparkling in the air in front of her face.

"How about we at go warm up while we think of what we're going to do?" Tails offers, breaking Cream out of a thoughtful trance.

They take a right and walk down a side street until they see the marquee to a large arena come into view.

"Look at that Tails! Outdoor ice skating on the Amethyst River."

So much for warming up….Tails thinks ruefully.

He trails behind Cream slightly.

"Isn't that the river that runs in the gorge by your house?" Cream asks again.

"Yeah, it is." Tails says sullenly as they head toward a makeshift counter near the edge of the wide, frozen river

"We could skate back to your house! Wouldn't that be awesome?" Cream grabs Tails' wrist and flings them both in the general direction of the river.

"Actually Cream…..I-I…..don't want to."

"W-w-why not?" Cream is instantly petrified again, feeling she's gone too far too fast.

"It's just that I….I-I-I don't know how to skate."

Tails sighs in shame, covering his face with his hands.

Cream exhales in relief that she's not being rejected.

"Tails, you crazy fox." She grabs both of his wrists and looks into his eyes.

A small grin starts to sneak its way across his face as he shyly looks back at the rabbit holding his arms.

"I can teach you how to skate Tails, no problem!"

"Okay, but….I gotta warn you, I'm pretty horrible at it."

Cream pays him no mind as she pulls him toward the counter.

After they each found a pair of sharp skates that fit, Cream helped Tails lace his up properly.

Tails did choose a pair of hockey skates to avoid some embarrassment while Cream went with thin, figure skating blades.

"Alright Tails, first off, it's just like rollerblading. You just want to glide, one foot after the other. See?" Tails looks on from the bank as Cream glides are expertly, weaving from one side of the river to the other.

"And whatever you do, don't be hesitant. If you want to speed up, speed up. If you want to stop, stop! Just turn your blades like this. You'll get the hang of it in no time."

Tails timidly tries to tip toe onto the ice first.

It looks as though he's trying to test the temperature of the ice with his shoe.

He stumbles and flails wildly, but manages to stay on his feet.

Cream skates up beside him, and he latches onto her like pink hedgehogs do to blue ones.

"It's okay Tails." Cream snickers to herself as she takes the opportunity to grab his hand.

"Just take it nice n' easy. Find a good, steady pace." She says as they glide along the tranquil river surface.

"I'm amazed the guy actually said we could bring the blades back tomorrow." She continues.

"Yeah, he was very understanding." Tails says, getting his mind off his fear of crashing for a moment.

"You want to hold onto my hand at this turn, or do you think you can handle it?" Cream asks as they near a large bend.

"I think I can do this."

Cream nods approvingly as she releases her grip.

Tails wobbles slightly but quickly regains control. He glides with ease as he speeds up slightly and begins to lean left into the turn. He focuses on sliding one foot in front of the other, but a jagged chunk of unevenly frozen ice catches on his skate and he tumbles through the air, face first.

Tails emits a small yelp as his chin slams into the unforgiving, frozen surface.

Cream immediately went from amused onlooker to concerned responder. She sprints toward Tails as he lies crumpled on the ice.

"Tails! Are you alright?" She yells out as her blades slice the ice loudly.

"Yeah…I think so." He mumbles as sits up. "I'm kinda wet now though."  
He woozily tries to shake some of the cold water from his arms.

"Look at your chin!" Cream gasps as she kneels down beside him.

"What?" Tails feels around his face before touching his chin and pulling his palm in front of his eyes.

"Gahhh!" He gasps as he notices a drop of blood no bigger than a pinprick.

"Very funny Cream." He sulks as he realizes it's not a serious injury.

She laughs loudly as she stands upright and pulls him to his feet.

Cream is taken aback though as Tails wordlessly grabs her hand as they continue to skate down the river.

They both become so focused on their skating motions that the rest of the trip home passes quickly.

Once Tails house has come into view, he releases Cream's hand and begins to speed ahead of her.

"What are you thinking Tails?" Cream calls as he pulls a few lengths in front of her.

"You're not stupid, so I know you aren't thinking you can beat me in a race." She says as she sprints toward him.

"I'm going to beat you there, make a cup of hot chocolate, add some of those little jet puffed marshmallows, enjoy it, and do a Sudoku puzzle before you even get off the ice." Tails taunts her.

He tries to keep up the pace, but Cream quickly gains on him and passes him by a few feet.

She purposely cuts in front of him and slows down slightly to mess up his momentum.

"Are you trying to make me crash or do you want me to flat out kill myself?" Tails calls out jokingly as his breathing becomes heavier.

"Just wanted to show you who's boss." Cream yells back as she stays a few feet in front of him.

The two have been so focused on trading verbal jabs that Tails hadn't noticed how close to the edge of the river they'd gotten.

"Cream! Turn around! Look out!" He calls as they both speed toward the dock near Tails' house.

Tails frantically tries to break, but has little success.

"Gahhh!" Cream immediately turns around, but can't stop in time as her skates crash into the edge of the pond the river forms into.

Fluffy white snow explodes in a huge puff as Cream crashes to the ground.

"Yahhhhhhh!" Tails crash is much more vocal as he screams loudly before flopping into the snow just seconds later.

"Cream are you alright?!" Tails quickly rolls over and crawls toward the blue jacket clad rabbit a few feet away.

"Yeah….I'm okay." She sounds somewhat dazed.

Tails relaxes a little, knowing that neither of them is seriously injured.

He unties the laces on his skates to make walking a little easier. He sees Cream still lying in the snow, catching her breath with her eyes closed.

"You need help taking your skates off? Your ankles aren't hurt, are they?" Tails asks as he looks at the calmly breathing rabbit again.

"I'm fine." She tells him as she blinks a couple of times, still seeming somewhat disoriented.

The dry, cold air's silence is only broken by the gentle midnight breeze's intermittent rustling of the pine trees in the distance.

"I'm fine Tails, but could you help me up?" She asks, still lying on her back.

"Sure Cream, take my ha—aahhhhhhhhh!" Tails extends his hand but yells out as Cream throws two hastily thrown, asymmetric snowballs that hit him in the forehead and chest.

Tails is somewhat in shock at the treatment, but quickly shakes off the attack and shoves a handful of snow at Cream as well.

Cream shrieks slightly in return as she tries to stumble to her feet. Escaping on ground with skates on isn't the easiest thing to try to do.

"Take this!" Tails yells from a few feet back as he's formed a small arsenal of mini-snowballs that rest by his feet.

Cream dodges Tails' throws and charges at him, showing no fear. She leaps toward him and tackles him to the ground.

The snow crunches beneath them as Cream looks at her slightly dazed victim.

"I'd say we're………pretty evenly matched." Tails struggles to say as he catches his breath.

Cream smiles sneakily as she stands up, offering Tails a hand.

"Now might be a good time for that hot chocolate." Tails suggests, pointing toward his house. "I want to warm up. It's f-f-freezing out h-h-here."

His teeth chatter involuntarily a few times as he crosses his arms for warmth.

"And here I thought foxes were supposed to be tough. Able to survive in the elements." Cream says mockingly as she puts her hands on her hips.

"We may be, but I'm still c-c-cold."

"I may be able to help with that. Cover you eyes with your hands and keep your tails behind you. No cheating, alright? You've got to trust me."

"Okay…." Tails hesitantly covers his eyes with his still slightly damp gloved hands.

He points his white paintbrush tipped, yellow-orange tails down.

"Now…..think of sitting in front of a warm, crackling fire…." Cream soothes him with the image.

She sees a short burst of relaxation shoot across Tails' face with a peaceful smile.

The snow crinkles quietly beneath Cream's skates as she inches toward him.

She gingerly places her lips on the young fox's before withdrawing quickly.

Tails instantly drops his hands at her touch, but doesn't have much time to contemplate what happened as Cream launches two more snowballs that splatter on his face.

Her laughs trail back to him as she stumbles ahead of him toward his house.

Tails takes off after her, determined to get some sort revenge, or at least more marshmallows than her in his hot chocolate.

*

The little bell on the door to the Flower Power shop rings as Sonic steps inside.

"Hey Cream, you about ready for lunch?"

"Sonic…..I'm going to have to cancel." Cream says as she aimlessly twirls the yellow tulip she's holding in her hand.

"Why? I thought you hadn't been to Luigi's in a long time?" He counters.

Cream can't control her smile from spreading as she looks across at Sonic.

"Actually….I got to eat there last night."

The End

Author's Note- This is my first attempt at fan fiction in a while, so I apologize if it isn't up to par. I've been focusing on writing original fiction lately and am even working on a book in my spare time, along with playing video games, a full time job, and a host of other hobbies. Perhaps I am spreading myself too thin?

Either way, I wanted to get back to my roots at least for a few nights and write some more stories of where I got started writing. Fan fiction is a wonderful outlet for beginning writers and experienced authors all the same. It's a great arena to let your imagination wander, and to end episodes, series, or games how they should have ended. Hehehe

Thanks for any comments and feedback, I really appreciate it. Writing has always been one of my favorite hobbies besides video games and sports because I can't draw very well, so I have to use words to paint the pictures in my mind and my heart. I am not a very talented writer, but it a great way to express emotions and feelings so I congratulate all authors for expressing themselves and their ideas through the wonderful gift of written language.

And of course Tails rules! Hehehe Thanks again and God Bless!


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